Although VA disability benefits can provide financial assistance and services to disabled veterans, veterans’ spouses may also qualify for benefits after the veteran passes away. Suppose your deceased spouse served in the military or developed a service-connected disabling medical condition. In that case, you should talk to a VA lawyer about benefits available to dependents to learn whether you may qualify and how you can apply for these benefits.
Understanding Surviving Spouse Benefits
Surviving spouse benefits available from the VA include:
Survivor and dependent compensation (DIC)
A surviving spouse of a servicemember who died in the line of duty or a veteran who passed away from a service-related injury or illness may qualify for tax-free monetary payments called Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. A spouse can qualify for DIC if they lived with their servicemember or veteran spouse without a break until their death or if the spouse was not at fault for a separation from the servicemember/veteran, and the spouse either married the servicemember/veteran within 15 years of discharge from the period of military service in which their injury or illness started or got worse, was married to the servicemember/veteran for at least one year, or had a child with the servicemember/veteran. Surviving spouses who remarry can continue to receive DIC if they remarried on or after December 16, 2003, at age 57 or older, or on or after January 5, 2021, at age 55 or older.
Survivor’s pension
Surviving spouses of wartime veterans may qualify for a survivor’s pension from the VA if they meet income and net worth (minus a residence, vehicle, home furnishings, and debts) limits set by Congress. Furthermore, the spouse’s veteran must have entered active duty on or before September 7, 1980, and served at least 90 days on active duty with at leas one day during a covered wartime period, entered active duty after September 7, 1980, and served at least 24 months or the whole period for which they were called to active duty with at least one day during a covered wartime period, or was an officer and started on active duty after October 16, 1981, without previously serving on active duty for at least 24 months.
Recognized wartime periods include:
- World War I
- World War II
- Korean War (June 27, 1950, to January 31, 1955)
- Vietnam War (November 1, 1955, for veterans serving in Vietnam, or August 5, 1964, for veterans serving outside Vietnam, to May 7, 1975)
- Gulf War (August 2, 1990, to an as-yet-determined date)
Aid and attendance benefits/household allowance
Surviving spouses of qualifying veterans may qualify for additional monthly payments in addition to their pension benefits if the spouse has become housebound due to a disability or requires assistance with daily activities.
Additional benefits available from the VA for surviving spouses of veterans include bereavement counseling, which Vet Centers provide to qualifying spouses, children, or parents of servicemembers or veterans.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Spouses of veterans may make mistakes that could jeopardize their claim to surviving spouse benefits from the VA, including:
- Errors in information on claim paperwork
- Missing deadlines for filing for benefits or responding to the VA’s request for additional information
- Insufficient medical evidence to support a claim for household allowances or aid-and-attendance benefits
Spouses can consult with experienced VA disability lawyers to understand which surviving spouse benefits they may qualify for and what steps they should take to give their benefits application the best chance of approval.
Contact a VA Disability Benefits Lawyer
As the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran, you may qualify for various benefits and services through the VA. Contact Coskrey Law today for a free initial consultation with a VA disability benefits attorney to discuss your options.